Ways to Love You
by summerfell
Summary: The Reikai Tantei is sent to McKinley High for a simple mission. For Hiei and Kurama, however, there's more at stake. Yaoi,PWP,boylove, HieixKurama, KurtxBlaine, teen hormones, lots of kissing, lots of singing, and some youkai fighting. T, later M. Wee!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is crazy. But what the hell.

**Disclaimer:** I neither own Yu Yu Hakusho or Glee

Episode 1

There are good days, and there are bad days, and there are days like this when Kurama wonders if Koenma had any common sense _at all_.

The first thing that Koenma did wrong was to send Botan to call Hiei _directly_. It was a humid day, the kind of day that Hiei hated the most, and to make the day pass as soon as possible the small youkai was snoozing in peace on a tree branch outside Kurama's apartment when Botan Suddenly Swooped Down and summoned the apparition with _such urgency_.

Now, for all previous missions, it was always Kurama who broke to Hiei anything Koenma wanted them to do; this was a strategic move to let the youkai think he had the choice to agree. Hiei trusted Kurama. Somewhat. And Koenma, in turn, trusted this system. Well, he _did,_ until the last mission when Kurama purposely left Hiei out (no, he would not drag Hiei's temperamental ass escorting mermaid toddlers from one end of a continent to the next). And now, Kurama feared, that just because Koenma wanted to make a point that he was the boss and it was not up to Kurama who to include on missions or not, he ignored this previously and perfectly working system.

The second mistake was _phrasing_. After they were all gathered in the briefing room (Hiei with a this-better-be-important-or-else frown), this was how the conversation went:

"We have urgent intel of a youkai disguising himself as a human, penetrating a high school in the United States," Koenma said without as much as a paude. "You guys are to be deployed immediately as exchange students to seek this youkai out as discreetly as possible."

"What kind of youkai?" Kurama had asked, knowing that the above sentence would never be enough in cooling Hiei's I-Could-Not-Care-Less-About-Humans head. Hopefully, the youkai would be challenge enough…

"B-class newt."

Great. Just great.

"All four of us. Going after a _B-class newt._" Hiei said slowly. Kurama knew Hiei enough to interpret this slowness as pre-Kokuryuha anger.

"Yeah, Koenma, why send us after something we have right here?" Kuwabara interjected, eyeing Hiei with an oafish grin.

"Or something you're about to be?" Hiei answered just as he leapt, sword aimed at Kuwabara's throat.

Oh boy.

This was the point when Kurama wondered about how hard Koenma's head must have hit the floor when he was dropped as a baby, hence his lack of foresight on putting this briefing together.

He looked at the infant and the demi-god waved an exasperated hand at him in permission to take control of the situation.

Kurama stepped closer to a struggling Yusuke (who was holding Hiei and Kuwabara apart), grabbed Hiei by the waist, and pulled him out of the briefing room.

"Let go of me, fool!" Hiei growled as Kurama continued to lift him even while walking along the corridors of Koenma's castle.

"No killing?" Kurama paused in his stride.

"Not for now," Hiei glowered.

"Good enough," Kurama chuckled and subsequently let go of the lithe demon.

They walked (stormed, for Hiei) towards the castle garden.

"I know what you're going to do," Hiei said right after they were within the middle of the plants. "Are they on?"

Kurama nodded as he let his powers through the plants and told them to hum so the walls can't hear their conversation.

"If you think you can talk me into this mission, you're even more insane than that brat in a royal high chair," Hiei grumbled.

Ah, Kurama noted. _Grumbled._ Not growled.

A sign that Hiei was more or less putting up this fight just to see how _exactly_ Kurama was going to convince him to travel half a world away pretending to be a student at a US school to track a B-class newt.

Unfortunately for Hiei, Kurama had no tricks up his sleeve. Kurama smiled at the dragon-bearer.

"No tricks this time," Kurama promised. He wouldn't have used the word 'trick' if he didn't know that Hiei somewhat enjoyed them in the first place. "We'll have to do this mission. It's 100."

Hiei's eyes widened. "You mean-"

"Yup, tracked it all from number 1," Kurama interrupted. He sat down on a stone bench and looked back at Hiei. "We're one mission away from becoming free."

"How come Koenma never mentioned it?" Hiei asked, looking dubiously at the fox in front of him.

"I honestly think he wasn't keeping track anymore; he thought we weren't doing this as a punishment but because we honestly wanted to, having grown close as tantei and all," Kurama offered.

Hiei was silent for a while, and Kurama waited patiently for the demon's decision. At this point, he didn't really have a preference if Hiei agreed or not; either way could possibly work out for them…

"So," Hiei gruffed. "Where is this _Ohayo_?"

* * *

><p>"You know what's awesome about this mission?" Yusuke exclaimed as they rode a van from the airport towards the school.<p>

"Aside from being free from Shizuru?" Kuwabara grinned.

Yusuke promptly ignored the comment. "No uniforms. _Finally._"

"Didn't know you were so fashion-conscious," Kurama jeered the toushin.

"Not really," Yusuke grinned sheepishly. "But I always ruin them when I got into fights, ya know? And it's _hard_ to explain to my mother why I always seemed to need a new set almost every week."

"We're near," Hiei said matter-of-factly.

Kurama nodded. He took a look outside the van windows as the vehicle made a turn and saw the beginning of a school ground. He looked up at the end of the road they were in and a red brick building sat at the top of a hill, with a few Caucasian students scattered here and there on the grounds.

He took a pillbox from inside his backpack, took out a couple of tabs, swallowed one and gave one to Hiei. At the front he saw his teammates also swallowing them.

"Wow. Does Koenma have French versions of these?" Yusuke asked in straight, American-accent English.

"But we study them together every night," Kurama replied.

Wow. Even _he_ was slightly taken aback by how effortless he was able to pull that sentence out. I mean, he knew pretty decent English but these language tabs did the trick _perfectly_.

"You okay Hiei?" Kurama asked.

"What's the plan to get this demon?" the youkai asked suddenly, also in pure American-accent English. His vibrato fit well with the accent and Kurama couldn't help but blink at the niceness of the tone.

As Yusuke launched an explanation of how they first had to know everyone in the school to get a feel of what's normal or what's not, Kurama sighed and focused his attention back on the grass outside.

His focus wasn't on the students strolling around or the brick building becoming nearer and nearer though. In his mind, the thought that Hiei seemed to be so _eager_ to get the mission over and done with bothered him. It didn't really sit well with him, but when he tried, he couldn't put a finger on _why_, exactly.

* * *

><p>The four boys faced a bald-looking guy that was introduced to them as 'Principal Figgins'.<p>

"Welcome to McKinley High," he said, eyeing each one from head to toe. "We have quite a few members of the Asian community but always good to add variety to our campus."

"Thanks, sir," Kurama took the initiative to speak in front of the whole gang. "We're excited to be here. We really felt welcome."

If the stares he got from Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei were daggers, he could have been dead by now. Kurama knew exactly what the looks meant. Once they got off the van and trudged the walk to the front door of the school, they experienced a few head-to-toe stares from the other students, particularly those who wore McKinley high uniforms; must have been varisty players and cheerleaders, Kurama had presumed.

"Anyway," Kurama rushed to displace the tension. "Thanks again. I guess we should be heading our way to classes now."

Principal Figgins handed out papers with their schedules printed on them.

"A few useful reminders," he said as he stood up and led them to the door. "There are restrooms at both ends of the hallways should you feel the need to wash yourselves or bathe."

Kurama found that last statement strange, but the moment they got ushered out of the principal's room, the sudden influx of Amreican high school made him forget whatever question he had about it.

He didn't know why but he lost Yusuke and Kuwabara in the flood of people on the corridors. The moment he realized it, he immediately secured Hiei's backback strap on his arm.

Okay, perhaps in a previous life, he was king-of-the-thieves youko. Or, even now, he was S-class demon Kurama. Or, back in Japan, he was campus-heart throb Minamino Shuichii. However, he was still half human, and a _teenager_. You couldn't blame him if he felt a little nervous standing in the middle of all these other teenagers buzzing about around him.

They were somehow being pushed and shoved. Was everyone is such a _hurry_?

"Hi there, you seem to be lost," a high-pitched voice said from behind them.

Kurama turned around and sort of spun Hiei around too.

"Hi, yeah, I think we need to head off to Spanish class," Kurama smiled.

"I'll lead you right to it," the woman nodded with a bright smile. "I'm Emma Pillsbury. Ms. Pillsbury, the guidance counselor. You guys are the exchange students?"

Kurama nodded. "My name is Kurama Minamino and this is Hiei Jaganshi."

"You seem to speak some awesome English," Ms. Pillsbury noted. "I thought you guys were from Japan?"

"We had American teachers there," Kurama lied without skipping a beat.

"They must have been good to teach you this level of articulation!" she clapped her hands in excitement.

"Basically they made us watch a lot of Friends and How I Met Your Mother reruns."

"Oh," she whispered. "Anyway, will you both follow me? I think Mr. Schuester – the Spanish class teacher – is about to kick the class off any minute."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Here we go. Second, much longer, chapter up next week.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** I lied. This isn't much longer. But, well, I hope you still like it.

**Episode 2**

"One's as small as a pancake."

"The brunette's quite hot. I wish he'd tuck out his shirt though."

"Did you see the redhead? I mean, I'd by a one way ticket to Japan to meet his stylist."

"Uh-huh, make sure you learn your Japanese or else you could turn out like that tall carrot-top."

"Are you girls talking about cake?" Kurt voiced as he entered the Glee Club practice.

The girls were all huddled on one corner of the room, whispering like the football finals was at stake.

"Equally yummy," Mercedes quipped.

"Haven't you seen them?" Rachel moved to give Kurt room to join their small soiree made of Mercedes, Tina, herself and Quinn.

"The backstreet boys?" Kurt put his face on his hands and batted his eyelashes at Rachel. "Went to their concert twice."

"The new exchange students, Kurt," Tina rolled her eyes. "They were all over the halls this afternoon. Mr. Schuester had to slap Mercedes at Spanish class to wake her up from staring."

"Couldn't help it, that Kurama's hair color could stop traffic."

"I'm taking it as good news," Tina followed up quite quickly. "The more members to the Asian community here at McKinley, the better. Mike and I could use more attendees to the Chinatown community benefits."

"Or performers," Kurt winked at Tina. "You think they-"

"We can ask," Mercedes said, picking up quite quickly. "I'd make Rachel sign a no-sabotage contract though. Remember what happened to Sunshine Corazon?"

"Don't worry," Rachel interjected. "I see the need for more male members of our thinning choir."

"I'd volunteer to ask the three but somebody else handle the small one," Mercedes volunteered. "Seems quite mad at the world. Or at his black boots at least."

"How harsh, he could be a victim of apartheid," Quinn whispered. "But he does ALWAYS seem so mad."

"Madder than Ms. Sylvester?"

The girls, including Kurt, all looked up as Finn, Artie and Puck entered the room.

"She's in a whole new level of rage," Artie breathed. "We better stay clear of the corridors this whole afternoon. She's got the cheerios lining up both sides of the halls to trip everyone who passes. Brittany and Santana will be late for practice today."

"How could anybody trip?" Tina asked. "If they're lining the halls everyone can see their feet sticking out."

"Ms. Sylevester's pushing students into carnage," Puck volunteered.

"Why is she so angry then?" Rachel asked.

"Small exchange student rolled his eyes at her and walked out."

"Wow. The guy's got balls. Won't he get in trouble or something?" Rachel crossed her arms.

"Not anytime soon," Finn huffed. "Did SO well at gym class Coach Beaste has got him practically on a RETAINER for all sorts of games. And his two friends too. And the way we've been losing at football lately, Principal Figgins is all for it. Even gave the three exchange students complimentary lunch passes good for a year at the cafeteria."

"Which ones?" Mercedes looked at Finn a little too eagerly.

"The ones that looked like guys," Finn nodded at her.

"Okay everyone," a voice said from the other side of the room. Mr. Schuester was here. "Get your song sheets ready. As emotional preparation for the nationals, we're singing about regret in a fun way."

Everybody shuffled to their seats and started practicing verses from "Someday We'll Know".

Kurt opened his lips and mouthed the lyrics, but no sound came out. Quite curious, how suddenly his gut ached, like somebody punched it and let his fist stay there instead of pulling it out.

He hasn't told anyone yet, and he was doing quite a good job hiding it by pretending to be his usual sassy self. He wasn't quite ready to be consoled, or worse, to be pitied; frankly he was still pretending it wasn't true. But sometimes, specially moments like this where they're freaking singing it out loud, he realizes how heavy he's been really feeling. Like he was suddenly made of stone.

Well, his heart certainly wasn't, even if his whole body was. This heart was mush, like a peanut butter sandwich left in the locker for too long. And worse, no matter how heart he tried to get his mush back, he still couldn't.

Because he still had it.

Blaine.

"What?"

"Excuse me?" Kurt whispered at Finn.

"You said something."

"No. Nothing at all."

Finn looked at Kurt, and Kurt smiled in return. He hoped it would be enough. He didn't want questions. Most of all he didn't want Finn, or the whole Glee club, getting mad at Blaine. He just got back at McKinley from Dalton; people would think it had something to do with that. It will be hard to explain it didn't.

After a few seconds, Finn nodded at Kurt and looked back at his song sheet.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Kurt decided that he would try his damn hardest not to let anybody find out as long as he could.

* * *

><p>"We'd really love to, Mike," Kurama said in gratitude. "But our after-schools are quite busy."<p>

Kurama took a book from the shelf, "Modern American Cooking", and trotted off to a seat. Mike followed him quite like a puppy.

"If you have time to browse through a cookbook," Mike complained. "Surely you have time to join us for tonight's MAC* meeting? Tina would kill me if I can't convince you."

Kurama sighed. Tina and Mike had been alternately introducing themselves and bugging him, Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara all day. Given that Kurama seemed to be the only one who had responded with nonviolent tendencies or coherent phrases, the couple (Kurama guessed) decided to zero in on him.

The red head sighed. He couldn't wait to get home and get this first day over and done with. Frankly, he was a little bit scared he'd face something more stressful at the house Koenma rented for the four of them; boxes of stuff would have to be unpacked, stories of the day would have to be listened to, and hungry adolescents would have to be fed.

"Believe me, this cookbook will save my life," Kurama huffed. They had about a week's worth of Japanese food with them, but after that they were left to their own devices. Koenma gave them oodles of money, sure, but the problem was where to spend it. At least Tina and Mike were useful for something; they said the nearest Asian market was a couple of hours drive out of town.

When he heard that, Kurama's heart sank. He really fell into the default role of the cook since he was the one who knew Hiei was an EXTREMELY picky eater; and he would NOT fall into the trap of ordering pizza for dinner every night. America's obesity rate was high enough as it was.

So his plan was to learn how to cook American ingredients, somehow fuse it with Japanese style cooking, and hopefully break all the guys (well, Hiei) in, lest they suffer cranky mealtimes and, occasionally, a katana pointed at Kuwabara's head.

He buried his face on the cookbook until Mike got the hint and slunk away in disappointment.

Kurama supposed he should feel guilty, but he saw no point; he figured the demon wasn't Asian anyway (no.1 rule of disguise: fit in) so no need to scope out this little niche.

He really should focus on the cookbook.

Pot roast.

_Ingredients..._

* * *

><p>He woke up with a hand tapping his shoulder.<p>

"If you get caught, that's one hour detention," a voice said.

Kurama looked around, confused.

"You were sleeping," the owner of the voice said matter-of-factly. Kurama looked up and saw a boy with nicely moussed-up hair.

"Er, thank you."

"It is my soulbound duty to rescue others from punishment by pot roast," the boy said. "Name is Kurt. And that recipe sucks. I've tried it," he said.

"I haven't tasted pot roast, I doubt I'll know the difference," Kurama answered tentatively. He didn't what to make of Kurt - was he being friendly? Or did he come to poke fun at Kurama's hair color like all the other students earlier?

"I can teach you. The food lab's empty now - shouldn't take more than a couple of hours," Kurt offered.

Kurama looked at his watch. He had that time before Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara got off from Coach Beaste.

He stared at Kurt's nonchalant face before finally, he nodded, dropped the cookbook, and followed Kurt out of the library.

* * *

><p>"Akihabara," Kurt told Mercedes. He was home and in his room with the phone cradled on his neck. "Well, he said his was natural, but you can get your hair to be that red along that street."<p>

"NATURAL? Dang," Mercedes shouted a little too loudly. Kurt pulled the phone away from his ear. "And I suppose those green eyes are, too?"

"What he said," Kurt shrugged.

"How'd you get to talk to him anyway?"

"We, um, cooked potroast together."

"Kurt-"

"It's not what you think," Kurt interrupted immediately. "Anyway, I have to go. See you tomorrow Mercedes."

"Kurt! I-"

Click.

Kurt sighed and sank back down his bed.

He hated to hang up on Mercedes but honestly, he was sure the topic of Blaine would be breached.

In reality he was even surprised at himself for approaching Kurama at the library earlier; he wasn't the type to be overfriendly. It wasn't because he was a snob, but he's been bullied multiple times, he was just careful not to be the one to initiate conversation with people who could be anti-gay, for all he knew.

Well, okay. That wasn't really applicable with Kurama. The guy looked, well, pro-gay. Or, just, _gay_.

And he was pretty. In a gay, guy-looks-like-a-girl-but-still-very-masculine kind of way.

Kind of, well, kind of like Blaine.

So Kurt felt safe appoaching him.

Wait - he wasn't hitting on Kurama, if that's what you're thinking.

He really wasn't.

He was just looking for someone who could potentially understand.

It felt great hanging out with someone who he didn't know. He didn't have to pretend to be his usual self. So while they were cooking potroast earlier, Kurt felt free to be lonely. He felt it was okay to be quiet as they sliced tomatoes. Kurama was equally quiet anyway.

And, he really wanted to help the exchange student. They had more things in common than he thought: in the few stories exchanged during the cooking session, Kurt learned that Kurama would live in an all-male household too during the length of his stay at McKinley.

And there was another thing.

Beyond the silent slicing of ingredients, waiting patiently while the sauce simmered, and Kurt casually giving out instructions, Kurt was surprised when he felt it, but when he did, he found himself equally glad.

Kurt breathed in. He felt Kurama was, like him, in love.

And more than that, it seemed like they both had broken hearts.

* * *

><p>*MAC: McKinley Asian Community<p>

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

**Episode 3**

"That. Was. Awesome." Kuwabara proclaimed as he rubbed his bulging stomach. Kurama looked at the crumbs that were the remains of the pot roast and silently thanked his new found acquaintance, Kurt. That was one hell of a way to reduce the adrenaline in the house.

"You can show your gratitude by washing up," Kurama smiled sweetly.

"Unfair!" Kuwabara bellowed. "Yusuke and Hiei ate, too."

"That's because Yusuke volunteered to unpack the boxes and, well, Hiei agreed to come back to McKinley to do some more serious sniffing around."

Kuwabara trudged off to the kitchen carrying all the plates and Yusuke, after giving Kurama a sharp eye, proceeded to go after the boxes. Kurama looked at Hiei and angled his head.

The youkai knew what that meant. He followed Kurama as the redhead stepped out of the balcony, lit a cigarette and puffed.

"Fox. Feeding us bane is dangerous."

"But you finished a whole bowl of it," Kurama retorted. "You liked it."

"Hn," Hiei snorted. As if in admittance of defeat, he murmured. "I hope you didn't put too much."

"Just enough," Kurama winked.

"You expect it'll work?"

"At the least, get the newt's attention. If it gets a whiff of the bane, it will definitely know other demons are around. It won't know we're after him though. He might think he can team up with us. I hope he's gutsy enough to try to fish for information or do something to grab our attention."

"I've looked around. The demon's been in there for quite a while, the scent is everywhere."

"We can't smell it from him directly though," Kurama added. "You have to admit he's quite the chameleon."

"The bane should make him jittery. Let's observe people closely."

Kurama puffed and sent smoke into the night. Whenever he and Hiei had conversations like this, he was always amazed at how well they could make, and understand, each other's plans. It was almost like they could read each other's minds.

Boy, do they make a _great_team. They knew that when they decided to steal the three treasures, but they became an ever better one after they were forced to work together as part of the tantei. They've been partners for just a short period of time, but even then, Kurama was forced to acknowledge a fact that's now staring at him closer than ever before.

It would be hard to manage without Hiei as a teammate after this mission.

Okay, it would be _really_hard.

For some reason, Kurama felt the need to look at his partner and found that curiously, Hiei was staring at him too.

Fine then. It would be _impossible_.

"You," Hiei looked down, then looked back at Kurama. "What are you going to do after?"

Kurama's heart quickened a bit. Was Hiei… was Hiei thinking the exact same thing?

"I haven't really decided," Kurama said. He decided he can't really handle Hiei's stare for now, so he looked away and took a long drag. "You?"

Hiei's breath hitched as if to say something, but seemed to decide against it and stayed silent.

They remained still for a while until Hiei wordlessly flit off to, Kurama assumed, McKinley again.

It was curious how fine Kurama was with that. It wasn't like he got used to Hiei disappearing and reappearing without word, but he was just comfortable with it. Even more than great partners, he supposed he and Hiei had become sort-of friends. In a very quiet, I-got-your-back sort of way. And again this was totally fine with him.

Plus, it was good the conversation ended where it did. He really hasn't decided what to do yet once they've ticked off mission 100. There really wasn't much choice left to him; he supposed he could live out his human body to its maximum life, or go back to Makai and rebuild. Makai appealed more to his vanity; he quite _liked_ this form and going there would allow him to retain this body for a long time without it showing the least bit sign of aging.

But then, here, of course he had Shiori and the tantei…

Kurama stubbed his cigarette and sighed. Suddenly, just so suddenly, he felt really… alone. Nobody knew about this dilemma of his, and although he could always share it with Hiei, the demon would never understand his… sentiment, for human life and continuing to linger here, even if he didn't have to.

For Hiei, Kurama was sure, returning to Makai would be the obvious choice. Perhaps he even _expected_ it.

Kurama felt swiftly overwhelmed. Like there was a huge rock in his head, and he can't get it to move no matter from what direction he pushed. He wanted to do something simple. Something repetitive and meditative. _That_ always helped him think.

The redhead stood up, stepped back inside and decided to make another batch of pot roast.

* * *

><p>The next day, McKinley was buzzing with so much gossip, Kurt thought the building was going to burst.<p>

"Have you heard?" Rachel had said while they were lining up for lunch at the cafeteria. She stole a glance at the table where Kurama and the exchanges students sat, then proceeded to speak in a whisper.

"Yusuke _dodged_ a slushie attack."

"What?" Kurt exclaimed. It was _impossible_ to shirk out of a slushie splash. Physically, it was just not something people should be able to _do_.

"Finn saw the whole thing. He said Yusuke ducked from the red slush so fast, he thought the guy _teleported_."

"You should have fed your ex-boyfriend more peanuts, they're good for the brain," Kurt rolled his eyes. "Obviously he must know some form of Japanese kung fu or something.

"That makes perfect sense, because Finn said after he ducked, Yusuke punched Karofsky and Karofsky flew _ten feet away_. All five hundred pounds of him."

Kurt took an apple, bit, and looked at Rachel as he chewed delicately.

"I have an idea," Rachel breathed deeply. "Imagine if we can get those exchange students on _our_ side. They can teach us Japanese kung fu, and we'll be slush free _forever!_"

Kurt chewed on his apple bite more. That _was_ an idea. He got so used to slushie-free days at Dalton, he would do _anything_ not to get that red sticky liquid on _any_ of his clothes again.

"This may have been your most brilliant moment ever," Kurt smiled. He took Rachel aside into a quiet corner of the cafeteria.

"I have a plan…"

* * *

><p>"You better have a plan," Hiei snorted as he set his food tray on the table.<p>

"What do you mean?" Kurama asked innocently.

"Everyone's talking about it," Kuwabara grumbled. "Yusuke dodged a slushie, and returned a punch."

"How strong?" Kurama eyed Yusuke, who shrugged and dug into his sandwich.

"Enough for _this_," Hiei glanced discreetly around and Kurama followed his move. Everyone in the cafeteria was whispering and taking glances at their table.

"Well," Kurama sighed. "Losers get slushied everyday. I doubt it could have been the bane working. Worse news is that, if ever he's smelled the bane around, the demon's not _supposed_ to know for sure it was us… or else he'll start avoiding us more."

"Come on guys, ya all would have done the same if you're gonna be slushed." Sandwich crumbs flew out of Yusuke's mouth. "And, all we gotta do is make sure that whatever I did was something a normal American teen can do."

"Yeah, right, Urameshi. How the hell-" Kuwabara paused when two figures appeared near their table.

Kurama looked at the direction Kuwabara was staring at and saw a familiar face. And a girl.

"Hi Kurt," he smiled. "I don't believe you've met my friends directly. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei. Guys, this is Kurt – thank him for the pot roast last night, it was his recipe."

The guys mumbled (for Hiei, um, stared) greetings and praises.

"It was my mom's, actually," Kurt gave some sort of small hand wave. "This is my friend Rachel."

"Hi guys," Rachel greeted.

Hmmm, that's quite a high-pitched voice, thought Kurama.

"What can I do for you two?" Kurama eyed Kurt and Rachel back and forth.

"Well," Rachel clapped her hands together and gave a big smile. "We thought you guys might want to give Glee Club a try. Kurt and I are both members, and we're a small but fun group looking to expand."

Kurama looked at Yusuke and Kuwabara who both wore a polite-but-clearly-this-is-ridiculous smile. Kurama looked at Hiei and he could have sworn the black dragon was staring at him in the eye with a clear message.

_Don't you dare, fox. _

But it was too late. The moment Rachel gave the invitation, some sort of plan had already hatched in Kurama's head. Related somehow to Yusuke's declaration of 'something a normal American teen can do'...

He gave a mischievous grin to Hiei before turning around and facing Kurt and Rachel again.

"That would be great! How do we audition?"

* * *

><p>"Mr. Schue?" Kurt started during the beginning of their Glee Club session. He looked at Rachel and the girl nodded at him in support.<p>

"Yes, Kurt?"

"I believe some students are ready to audition today. Four, exactly."

"Perfect!" Mr. Schue smiled. "We need all the help we can get for regionals."

All other members of the club looked at Kurt with wonder, specifically Mercedes. He cleared his throat. At that moment Rachel stepped out of the room and came back dragging the four exchange students.

Kurt's jaw dropped when the four entered the choir room.

They… they were dressed…

Yusuke wore a coat over his usual shirt and jeans. Okay, that was fine.

Kuwabara wore a yellow button down shirt that frankly looked like it belonged to his dad's closet, but okay. Fine.

It was when his eyes raked over Kurama and Hiei that he had to stop himself from… licking his lips.

Hiei wore his normal black tight-fit pants, but instead of the black tank top, he wore a white one that clung to _oh god every bit of muscle_.

Jesus Christ, even Puckerman, who worked out every damn day, wasn't _that_ defined. How the hell can that small, compact, VinDiesel body happen?

And Kurama. He looked like he'd been in Kurt's closet, honestly.

He wore the skinniest jeans you can imagine. And a pink striped top, overlain with a purple jacket.

How could you werar that, and still look so… _masculine_?

Kurt was so busy raking in their clothes that he didn't notice they had all taken positions in the stage. He blinked and realized Yusuke had taken the mic, Kurama the electric guita, Hiei the bass, and Kuwabara, surprise surprise, the drum set.

Kurt looked all around the room. Everybody's mouths gaped open.

Wow. When he said _audition_, Kurama _meant_ it.

"Sup everyone," Yusuke cleared his throat. "Uh, we're the, uh, _Reikai Band_."

Kuwabara had some sort of coughing fit.

"Thanks to, uh, Kurt and Rachel for inviting us to audition."

The lights went out and the room found Kurama playing the opening riffs to a song. Kurt listened closely until he realized what… it… was…

_Oh no._

_I feel so unsure_

_As I take your hand_

_And lead you to the dance floor_

_As the music dies_

_Something in your eyes_

_Goes to minus silver screen_

_And not exactly goodbye_

Kurt closed his eyes. Wow, they were actually pretty _good_. He didn't think they'd be this good, he thought they were at least decent. He and Rachel had already planned how they'd convince the team to accept them even if they couldn't really do music, but looks like that plan wasn't even _needed_.

But that wasn't why he felt like suddenly, somebody grabbed his heart and squeezed it.

_I'm never gonna dance again_

_Gifted feet have got no rhythm_

_Well it's easy to pretend_

_I know I'm not a fool_

_Should've known better than to cheat a friend_

_Wasted chance that I've been given_

_So I'm never gonna dance again_

_The way I danced with you_

Yusuke's voice was cool and sweet. But what got Kurt to put his hand on his chest was the riffs from Kurama. He plucked that guitar as if it was his _voice_. And, yet again, Kurt felt something.

Something he can understand, he supposed, since he was in the exact same position.

Lonely.

_Time can never make careless whispers of a good friend_

_To the heart in mind_

_Ignorance is kind_

_There's no comfort in the truth_

_Pain is the heart you'll find_

_I'm never gonna dance again_

_Gifted feet have got no rhythm_

_Well it's easy to pretend_

_I know I'm not a fool_

_Should've known better than to cheat a friend_

_Wasted chance that I've been given_

_So I'm never gonna dance again_

_The way I danced with you_

The song went on and Kurt had to choke back. Memories flooded him. Short circuited him. Broke his wall of defense.

_Oh god._

No, not now, please.

"I – I, excuse me," he whispered to Santana as he pushed past her and ran out of the Glee club choir room.

* * *

><p>"<em>Kurt, I- I want to sing something for you… will you listen?"<em>

"_My dad is about to pick me up in five minutes."_

"_I know, I know. It's just… I don't want you to leave without knowing this, okay?"_

"_You made everything pretty clear Blaine."_

"_No, not this way."_

"_If you insist."_

"_Thank you. Listen, okay?"_

_I hope you never lose your sense of wonder _

_You get your fill to eat _

_But always keep that hunger _

_May you never take one single breath for granted _

_God forbid love ever leave you empty handed _

_I hope you still feel small _

_When you stand by the ocean _

_Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens _

_Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance _

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance _

_I hope you dance _

_I hope you dance _

_I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance _

_Never settle for the path of least resistance _

_Living might mean taking chances _

_But they're worth taking _

_Lovin' might be a mistake _

_But it's worth making _

_Don't let some hell bent heart _

_Leave you bitter _

_When you come close to selling out _

_Reconsider _

_Give the heavens above _

_More than just a passing glance _

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance _

_I hope you dance _

_Time is a real and constant motion always_

_I hope you dance _

_Rolling us along_

_I hope you dance _

_Tell me who_

_I hope you dance _

_Wants to look back on their youth and wonder_

_Where those years have gone_

_I hope you still feel small _

_When you stand by the ocean _

_Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens _

_Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance _

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance _

_Dance _

_I hope you dance _

_I hope you dance _

_Time is a real and constant motion always _

_I hope you dance _

_Rolling us along _

_I hope you dance _

_Tell me who _

_Wants to look back on their youth and wonder _

_I hope you dance _

_Where those years have gone _

_Tell me who _

_I hope you dance _

_Wants to look back on their youth and wonder _

_Where those years have gone_

"_Did you understand that Kurt?"_

He never answered. His dad came and he had to rush out. He went out the doors of the dormitory room with Blaine in step behind him, but Kurt didn't look back.

If he did, he might have broken right then and there.

Because the truth was, he _didn't_ understand.

He never understood why Blaine said he loved him, and yet he left him.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

For the hard core YYH fans, you're probably familiar with an image of the tantei dressed up as a band. The audition scene and outfit here was lifted directly from there. If you need a refresh of that photo, here it is (delete the spaces): http:/ images4 .fanpop .com /image /photos /17600000 /the_music_band_-yu-yu-hakusho- 17678922-500-457 .jpg

For those who want to hear Yusuke's voice, search for the series OST songs on Youtube

To be continued and thanks for the reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

Episode 4

* * *

><p>Oh boy.<p>

What trouble did he create.

Well, of _course_ they got accepted at Glee club. Kurt never did return after running out ("I'll take care of it," Finn declared), but that wasn't the trouble Kurama was talking about.

It was the Tantei.

Everybody _refused_ to talk to him. Not a single word. And Hiei, who normally didn't talk much anyway, refused to _look_ at him.

"Guys, be reasonable," Kurama whined as they got home. "Yusuke, remember, this was _your_ idea," he attempted at blackmail.

"No way fox, you're taking the blame by yourself this time."

"If you didn't really want to join Glee Club, why did you perform so well then?"

"We _always_ perform well. Don't want to make a fool of ourselves," Kuwabara muttered.

"Remember, this is for the _mission,_" Kurama stressed. "Yusuke, you punched someone. We have to prove anyone can do it. That we're not demons. So, it is both imperative and practical to teach the, uh, strength-challenged, Glee kids some self defense..."

"Don't see why we have to be members of Glee to do _that_!"

"Come on detective," Kurama winked. "You see how the McKinley students hang out in cliques."

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at Kurama.

The fox had one final ace up his sleeve.

"As a bonus, don't you guys want to get to see the cheerleaders everyday? I mean, Quinn, Santana and Brittany are not bad..."

"Well, now that you mention it..."

Okay, Yusuke and Kuwabara, check.

Now time to work on Hiei.

He tilted his head to the right the way he always did when he wanted to tell Hiei they should talk alone. They stepped out to the same veranda they've sort of made their 'talking alone' area.

"Don't waste your energy on me," Hiei stated, looking at Kurama's eyes directly. "I'm here for another reason."

Kurama's heart gave a silent jump for joy. At least Hiei, somehow, understood this part of the plan.

"About the newt?" Kurama asked hopefully.

"Why are you- behaving like this?" Hiei ignored Kurama's statement altogether.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Why-," Hiei hesitated. "Why do you feel the need to make human... connections?"

"Hiei, I-"

"You can't fool me with the excuse you gave Yusuke and the oaf," Hiei looked at Kurama in the eyes again. "You've been acting differently the last few days. And now you're dragging us with you in your attempt to make yourself a part of a ningen group."

Kurama was in shock. He felt partially insulted, partially vulnerable, but most strangely, _pleasantly surprised_ at how Hiei was able to read him like a textbook.

And there was something else. Was Hiei making an issue of this because he was trying to make _human_ friends? To belong... to humans?

Kurama's heart skipped a beat.

The underlying message within Hiei's questions were clear. _Why are you making ningen connections when after this mission, you're free from the bonds of serving humanity anyway?_

So he was right. Hiei _did_ assume he was going back to Makai.

"By acting differently, you mean acting like a normal human teenager wanting to make friends?" Kurama said slowly, sarcasm clear and dripping in his tone. "Because, Hiei, I hate to break it to you, but that's what I am..."

Hiei's eyes widened. Because of what, Kurama didn't know.

Kurama blinked and when he opened his own eyes, Hiei was gone.

As usual.

He sighed.

Not because of exasperation, or annoyance, but how, strangely, as much as he was pleasantly surprised when he knew Hiei could read him earlier, he was... hurt.

Hurt that Hiei didn't seem to accept his (part) humanity. That Hiei saw him, trusted him, befriended him, purely as a _demon_, and not for who he really _was_.

The lingering thought in Kurama's mind was why it seemed like it mattered the _hell_ to him.

* * *

><p>There was a tentative knock on his door.<p>

"Come in," Kurt called out, half knowing who it would be already. Well, it better be him, if he's half the man he's promised to be...

Finn's head popped in.

Kurt wasn't disappointed.

"Just wanted to check on you," Finn said, pushing the door aside and coming down the stairs to the basement that was Kurt's room. Kurt pointed to the empty chair across his bed.

"Thank you," he said simply. Well, he was glad Finn wanted to make sure he was okay, but he wasn't necessarily glad they were in this position. Now, he was sure Finn would probe why he had that breakdown, and again, he didn't want to tell anyone. Even his brother.

"You-" the boy cleared his throat and tried again. "You got pretty emotional back there."

"Yeah, I've always wanted to dance, I guess it struck a chord with me."

"I danced with you," Finn smiled a bit. "At Mom and Dad's wedding."

"And that was the best dance I've had," Kurt smiled again to reassure Finn. "I guess that's why I got emotional – it was so beautiful. I'd like to have that again."

"Blaine could take you, I bet he's a lot better."

Kurt tensed. Quite visibly.

"_Aha_. Got you. It's about him, isn't it?" Finn resumed his serious face.

"Finn."

"You've been acting... different, since you moved back from Dalton," Finn sighed. "You're doing a good job pretending, but I... I see you everyday and I know, I just _know_, something's up. And not the good kind."

Kurt took a deep breath. Could he tell Finn? He really wanted to, now. Keeping it inside him for so long has taken its toll. Sharing it with someone could help lessen the pain somehow-

"If he's hurt you in any way Kurt," Finn muttered, voice cracking slightly. "I swear to god I'll kill him. I swear to god."

Kurt sighed.

He- couldn't.

Even if he wanted to. It was too dangerous. He was sure no matter how he explained to everyone, they wouldn't understand. Heck, even _he_ still couldn't, but he definitely didn't want Finn punching the lights out of Blaine.

"Thanks Finn, but you'd have to take out the wrath of god to some other person," Kurt attempted at a smile. "And I promise you, he didn't hurt me, in any way outside of how I'd let him."

Finn blinked, and after pausing for a while, nodded at Kurt, squeezed his hand and slunk out of his room.

Kurt couldn't help but smile. He purposely made that last part of the sentence a little bit too complicated for Finn's mind. Hopefully, it would be good enough to keep Blaine safe from 'the wrath of god'.

Because he was sure Finn would really bring it to Blaine.

Finn hated cheaters. Really hated them. Because he became the victim, and hell come loose if he was going to let his brother become one also.

But, Finn's chivalry has come too late.

Blaine had cheated on Kurt, and that's why they broke up.

* * *

><p>After Glee club practice, Kurama asked Kurt, Rachel and Mercedes if they could go to the mall. Mercedes had to babysit a cousin, Rachel had a date with Finn at Breadsticks, and so it was Kurama and Kurt who stepped inside Kurt's Honda and headed off.<p>

Kurama didn't really need to buy anything. But, he was still too confused to deal with Hiei.

Actually, for the past week, he's been cooking up ways to avoid Hiei in any way he can. And a part of that was hanging out with Kurt, Mercedes and Rachel in between classes, during lunch and after Glee practice.

So, yeah, probably he was holding this grudge for too long.

Okay, maybe not really a grudge, but seeing Hiei just, somehow, sent Kurama's mind _reeling_.

Plus, he couldn't concentrate on tracing the newt if he spent his concentration asking himself why Hiei bothered him so suddenly. And speaking of the newt, the bane didn't seem to have that much of a success anyway. Since they've taken to having ten minute kung fu sessions after each Glee club practice (led by mostly Yusuke and Kuwabara, watched by Hiei from the corner of the choir room), the rest of McKinley seemed to have pretty much gotten used to them already and, subsequently, ignored them.

Including the newt.

Kurama racked his mind to try to find a new way of tracking the demon.

He and Kurt were in a comfortable silence for most of the trip. Somehow, Kurt seemed to be almost always available whenever Kurama needed company, and so even without exchanging so much chat or talk, the fox could say they've gotten, somehow, close.

Kurt parked his car and they decided to grab some hotdogs and milkshake before watching a movie.

When they got to the store, the line was long. Seemed like a lot of students had the same idea; the place was abuzz with students in a mix of casual clothes and uniforms. They fell in line.

"Dalton," Kurt explained the red-lined, blue blazers. "I used to go there."

"Why'd you move to McKinley?" Kurama asked casually.

"I missed my friends," Kurt shrugged. He then explained to Kurama why he had to go to Dalton in the first place.

"That's all kinds of awful," the fox stated as they took one final step to their turn at the counter. "If I was there it wouldn't have happened. I would have been your knight. And, chivalry might be too late, but let me treat you to make up for my tardiness."

"You're ever so kind," Kurt giggled, going along with the joke. He linked his arms across Kurama's extended elbow.

"How do you like your hotdog?" Kurama asked.

"Loaded with cheese, and nothing else," came a voice that belonged to neither both of them.

They both spun around and, suddenly, Kurama felt Kurt draw his hand back and step one foot sideways _away_ from him.

"At least, that's if your tastes for hotdogs haven't changed yet, seeing that they have for boys."

There was a guy in a Dalton uniform with a questioning smile, eyes darting back and forth between Kurt and Kurama.

"What do you want, Blaine?" Kurt asked, eyeing the uniformed boy sharply.

"Have you heard about the three month rule?" Blaine still had a sarcastic smile on his face. "You're not supposed to date _anyone _three months after you've broken up with someone, Kurt, particularly when you broke that someone's heart."

"The hell!" Kurt exclaimed. People were starting to stare at them from all around. Kurama cleared his throat but both Kurt and Blaine didn't seem to care at this point. He continued to snap at this Blaine fellow. "First time we've seen each other since I left, and you're playing the scorned lover? Remember, Blaine, it was _you_ who cheated."

"That wasn't part of what we-" Blaine paused and looked around. He must have realized half the population of Dalton and McKinley were now staring at him.

"We have to talk," he said in a huff. "Kurt, _please_."

"Well, not now," Kurt snapped in return. "We have a movie to catch."

And even before Kurama could utter anything, Kurt was grabbing him by the hand and dragging him to the cinema, sans hotdogs and milkshakes.

* * *

><p>"Care to explain what happened there?" Kurama whispered as they sat down in the dark theater. On the screen, Angelina Jolie voicing a female tiger beat up several animated wolves with her kung fu. Since they've started giving the Glee club kids 'kung fu' lessons, it was but natural that they decided to watch Kung Fu Panda 2.<p>

Of course, Kurama was paying no attention to it now. His mind still replayed the confrontation.

Kurt adjusted his 3d goggles and whispered back. "My ex think we need, ah, _closure_."

"Mmm," Kurama whispered again. "Maybe you need it. Why don't you talk to him?"

"Excuse me? You're the love doctor now?"

"Come on, Kurt. I've felt you were sad about something. Now I know what exactly."

Kurt took a handful of popcorn and shoved them into his mouth.

"Really grown up," Kurama hissed.

"_Shhh!_" someone from their back said.

Kurama and Kurt clammed up and went on to watching the movie for a while.

"You know," Kurt whispered again after a while. "I've never asked. Are you _gay_?"

Kurama choked on his popcorn.

"What makes you think I am?"

"It's not because of your hair, although that's one wildcard I must say," Kurt huffed. "But, well, I've always thought you and Hiei has some sort of _thing_ going on..."

"Thing? What _thing_?"

"Hush, don't need to be so loud," Kurama felt Kurt almost grin. "And so... _defensive_."

"What _thing_?"

Kurama swore Kurt deliberately chewed on some popcorn to spite him.

"You know, I see the way he looks at you at Glee club. Hell, it's almost always just _you_ he looks at."

"We're-" Kurama hesitated. Hiei looked at _him_? Really? And what were they, that he can say to Kurt? They weren't really _friends... "_-sparring partners in Japan._"_

Kurt gave an audible sigh.

"And you're avoiding him because?"

"I'm not-"

"I'll make you a deal," Kurt pushed on. "You tell me the _real_ deal with you and Hiei-"

"_Shhh!_"

"-and I'll tell you what happened with Blaine and I."

Kurama looked at Kurt.

Would he be ready for the _whole_ truth?

"I'll think about it."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Thank you for the wonderful reviews. It's _fantastic_ to know there's people out there reading this small crossover of mine. Glee and YYH mean so much to me, too.

To be continued.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **According to FF stats, there are, like, half a thousand people reading this. Show some love will ya? Leave a review after this chapter ^_~ To those who already did: all the love in the world for you guys. You inspire me to continue writing.

**Episode 5**

"Push it in," Yusuke huffed. "Just push it in."

"I can't – it's too tight," Sam panted.

"Then stretch it first. Put your fingers inside slowly."

"Okay, but it's so hard already..."

"Here, let me," Yusuke breathed.

Yusuke grabbed Sam's hand and helped shove it inside the boxing gloves.

"There, see, it fits."

"Never thought it'd be this hard to put these things on," Sam sighed. He put his hands up and started punching at the air in front of Yusuke.

"Arms up. Extend your reach," Yusuke advised as he ducked and flit out of the way.

"This is great," Sam panted. "A few more days and you figure I can take on Finn?"

"You guys have a fight or something?" Yusuke said as he moved back and forth.

"Not really, just in case," Sam panted.

They resumed the spar in silence.

* * *

><p>It was midnight already by the time Kurt dropped Kurama off at the Tantei house.<p>

The redhead opened the door slowly so as not to wake anyone inside. It was pitch dark, but he stood still for a while, knowing that more or less his eyes will start to adjust and soon, he can navigate through the shadows.

"Stop pretending you're human, fox," a voice from within the dark said. "Or, are you practicing?"

Kurama sighed.

"How nice to see you too, Hiei."

The mood was off. Kurama blinked and used his demon powers; immediately the shadows started to define themselves furniture. Kurama made out a chair and he sat on it slowly. He felt Hiei move to follow him.

"You've been busy the past few days," Hiei accused quite accurately.

"Just talking to people," Kurama said slowly, looking down quite uncomfortably. He knew Hiei was staring at him.

"That's it?"

"Yeah," Kurama whispered.

"You've been hanging out with someone quite... often," Hiei pointed out hesitantly.

"Just gathering information," Kurama snapped. He was suddenly annoyed – why was Hiei suddenly acting like his _mother_?

"And, I enjoy his company," Kurama added... as bait. He wanted to know how Hiei would react to that statement.

Well, there was silence. Kurama wanted to smack his head. He should've known.

"I have information," the dark demon said slowly after a while. "I've been observing people closely and there's someone who stands out."

The fox narrowed his eyes. Could he and Hiei be thinking of the same person?

He's been eyeing someone as well. If there was one reaction to the bane, it was that she invited them to join Glee club. He's been suspecting her as soon as he heard her voice inside the cafeteria. Because, it was just _impossible_ for a human to have that pitch unless...

He finally looked up at Hiei and nodded.

"A mark of someone raised in water," Kurama agreed. "What do you want to do?"

"We're not sure yet," Hiei hinted.

Kurama understood. Damn it, he just naturally _spoke _Hiei. Even if they're not talking, even if just looking at Hiei fucked with his mind and kicked his heart, it was impossible to deny that they just, simple, _worked_.

"I'll have an answer by end of this week," Kurama spoke. "If Rachel Barry is indeed the newt."

* * *

><p>"Japanese songs," Mr. Shcuester declared in Glee club practice. "Since our exchange students have been so nice as to sing English songs with us and give everyone kung fu lessons, we should return the kindness and sing some Japanese songs with them."<p>

"But Mr. Schue, we don't even speak Japanese," Santana replied in a deadpan tone. "In case you haven't noticed."

"I can say _Honda_," Brittany piped up.

"We don't need to," Artie rescued the blonde. "Have you ever noticed how Amy Winehouse drops her British accent whenever she sings? Anyone can speak a different language when they're singing."

"And there are lots of songs from Japan that have English in the lyrics," Tina volunteered. "They like sort-of, mashing them up."

"You don't have to do this Mr. Schue, really, we're fine with the English songs," Kurama said.

"I miss some of the songs at home we rock out out too, though," Kuwabara muttered.

"Well, how about if everybody get used to Japanese songs first," Yusuke stood up. "And the perfect way is to watch some good old Japanese cartoons!"

"Are you _out of your tucked-in mind_?" Quinn rolled her eyes. "We're losers as it is, and now you want us to turn into some _otaku_?"

"But we know how to defend ourselves now," Sam looked at Quinn. "If anybody bullies us, we'll just show them some Japanese kung fu and they're done."

There was a buzz of agreement from all over the room.

"In that case," Mr. Schue smiled. "Everybody's assignment this weekend is to watch a Japanese cartoon and sing the best song they've heard out of it on Monday."

* * *

><p>Kurt approached Kurama after Glee club dismissal.<p>

"Well, now you _have_ to help me here," he said while grabbing Kurama's arm.

The fox laughed at his gesture. "I can give you private tutors, but there's just one thing I'm asking for in exchange."

Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Uh-oh, I mean I _like_ you, Kurama, but I don't _like you_ like you."

"The thing I was going to ask for," Kurama ignored Kurt's comment altogether. "Is if you could bring Rachel over, too."

"Easy enough," Kurt smiled. "Though may I ask why? Is your boyfriend getting jealous about us spending too much time together?"

Kurt swore, if he saw someone turn red faster than Kurama did, he'd chop his hair off.

"He was at it again today," Kurt added, just to see if Kurama can turn any redder. He was _quite_ enjoying this. "Staring at you for the _whole _ Glee club practice. Frankly I don't know why you haven't noticed it all this ti- YEOUCH!"

Kurt found his foot being stomped on by the redhead.

"WHAT THE F-"

"Hey Kurama, wanna ride with us or what?"

Kurt turned around and found Yusuke and Kuwabara approaching them.

"Thankbutkurtwilldropmeoffbye!" Kurama waved, and practically _shoved _the two boys outside the room.

When Kurt and Kurama found themselves alone in the choir room, Kurt put his hands on his hips.

"These are expensive, Jimmy Choo shoes," he said. "And, why are you so defensive about you and Hiei, anyway?"

Kurama sighed audibly. "Sorry about the boots, it's just- please don't let anybody know about me and Hiei."

Kurt sat down and looked at Kurama, and for the first time since they met, he realized that the redhead looked... possibly shaken and quite _unsure_.

"Hey, remember what I told you in the cinema? Our deal? I didn't offer it just because I want to gossip," Kurt smiled, hoping Kurama would recognize that he really _cared_. "I, well, I just felt like you could use someone to _know_."

Kurama sat in front of him and took a deep breath.

"I, well, Hiei and I aren't really friends, but we're partners," the redhead began. "In Japan, the four of us belong to this group and we get assigned certain... projects. And Hiei and I always team up, mainly because we're from the same... hometown, and well, we're sort of doing it as punishment for something we did. But we've learned to trust each other, read each others minds in ways even _I_ can't imagine."

Kurt nodded, urging the redhead to continue.

"Well, after this stint in your school, we're actually not bound by our contract to stay in the group anymore," Kurama looked outside the window. "I think, well, I think Hiei was expecting me to go back to our hometown. But I'm not yet sure... I mean, I like what I have here. My friends, my family."

Kurt nodded, then prodded Kurama. "So, you and him are having this... misunderstanding?"

"I wouldn't even call it that," Kurama turned his head to look at Kurt. "We're having... tension. I think- I think he's upset now that he's realized that I might be staying here, and as for myself I think I'm upset because, because..."

"... because you want him to stay here too, but don't think you have the right to ask him to?" Kurt finished the sentence for him.

"Oh, I don't _want_ to ask him. I just wish he'd... realize it himself."

"Kurama," Kurt smiled and took the redhead's hands. "You are, for someone so smart, one hell of an _idiot_."

The aforementioned idiot took his hands away and raised his eyebrows at Kurt,who smiled and smacked his head.

"God, I can't believe it! You're both obviously so _in love_ with each other, you can't even realize it!"

"_In love?_ You," Kurama cleared his throat. "You don't know Hiei. I don't know if he's even capable of that."

"Well, what is he, raised by ice maidens or something? Of course he's capable, _everyone_ is, he just might not know about it."

"How do you know?"

"Kurama, the way he looks at you in Glee club practice, he looks like he wants _eat_ you," Kurt rolled his eyes again. "At first it was really scary, quite _demonic_ in fact, but then I realize he was just looking at you with such _desire_."

Kurama's eyes widened, quite bigger than a saucer.

"And, I have a hunch he's... upset, you might say, that you're making friends here not because he wants you to go back but because, well, he's _jealous_."

Kurama clammed up and just looked at Kurt. Just, steadily, looked at Kurt.

The green eyes boring into him were a little bit too much, so Kurt averted his eyes.

"Thank you," Kurama finally stated. He then stood up and grabbed his bag, then started to walk away from the room.

Kurt, knowing that his friend might need a moment to absorb everything he just said, let Kurama go in peace.

* * *

><p>In love. <em>In love<em>.

He was _in love_? With Hiei?

Just saying the word inside his mind made his gut churn!

Kurama ducked his head in the water and submerged himself.

He went straight to the school pool after his talk with Kurt. Swimming always helped him think, at the same time just distract himself, from whatever chaos was going on inside his head.

He's been swimming laps for half an hour now, but this one just refused to go away.

In love. In love!

How long has it been since his youko self fell in love? Ages. Ages! In fact, he's only been in love twice and look where that ended up; one, he killed and the other one, he blinded.

And now he's in love with the forbidden child!

And, and, there's a chance Hiei might also be in love with him... didn't Kurt say so?

_Impossible._

But... but that made sense, didn't it?

The way Hiei trusted _only _him, the way Hiei only let Kurama hold him, not just touch him, mind you, but really hold him, when he's wounded after a battle...

Kurama rose up to take a breath, and very quickly submerged himself in water again.

Damn, it was true.

And now that he's recognized it, it was pretty easy for the fox to realize that he _wanted_ to be with Hiei. That he wanted to own the demon, _possess_ him, to just lay beside him and whisper into his ears.

_You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen._

Once again Kurama rose up to the surface, short of breath. When he did, his eyes made out a shadow watching him from the sides of the pool.

The fox shook his head and swam closer to the figure. He looked up and blinked his eyes.

"Apparently, I love you," he said.

"Took you long enough to realize," Hiei replied matter-of-factly.

"Somebody had to point it out to me."

"Hn," Hiei knelt down such that he was closer to the fox. "And what else did he point out?"

"That," Kurama breathed and looked into Hiei's ruby eyes. "You love me, too."

"The boy has good sleuthing skills-"

Hiei had no time to finish his statement as Kurama pulled himself out of the water and pushed his lips to crash into Hiei's shocked ones.

Kurama felt like _melting_. Like everything he's waited for, like everything he wanted in this world, has just come _home_.

He pulled out of the kiss and sank back into the water.

Hiei nodded at him and flitted away.

As mentioned, he _spoke_ Hiei. This was just the way his demon was, and for Kurama, he'd have it no other way.

_The chase was on._

Kurama submerged himself in water once again. He'd have to thank Kurt.

But first, he had to know the boy's story.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Okay, I know kung fu isn't Japanese, but I'm writing this from the perspective of the Glee teens who might not necessarily know better. Just thought I'd point that out.

Also, apologies to Klaine fans if this is a bit too Kurama-Hiei centric. Next episode will be almost entirely Kurt/Blaine. Plus, a little bit of Kurama/Hiei action.


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